The invention relates generally to water purification and electricity generation and more specifically to a hybrid water purification and power generation system.
Water is the most bountiful substance on the surface of the Earth, and every type of life form depends on it for survival. However, approximately ninety eight percent of water is ocean seawater or brackish water, and another one percent is captive in the polar ice caps.
Much of the remaining water is non-potable because of contamination or industrial use. Overall, the global supply of potable water is dwindling and the need for improved purification of non-potable water is great. It is estimated that nearly one billion people lack access to potable water on a daily basis. About five million people die each year from drinking water related illness. In most of these troubled areas, water is available but it is laced with microbiological or chemical contaminants or is nonpotable ocean or seawater.
Accordingly, there is a need for a system that can produce potable water from a non-potable water source in an economic fashion and for a system that can be easily transported to regions that need potable water.